With Springfield's next city election a little more than a year away, aldermen are wrangling over new boundaries for the city's 10 wards.

Once every decade or so, the city council is charged with redrawing the lines for the areas they represent. The boundaries are based on the population count from the most recent census and must be approved at least 90 days prior to the first day candidates can file nominating petitions for the next election. Springfield voters will cast ballots April 7, 2015, for mayor, aldermen, city clerk and treasurer.

When the current map was approved in 2002, aldermen debated three versions sponsored by three of their fellow city council members.

So far this time around, there is one draft map, which Ward 1 Ald. Frank Edwards is sponsoring. The topic was up for discussion at Tuesday's city council committee of the whole meeting, but it was held in committee with virtually no discussion.

Edwards said he is sponsoring the map because he has no "vested interest" in where the boundaries end up. The former fire chief and interim mayor can't run for re-election in 2015 because city code prohibits elected officials from serving more than three consecutive terms in the same office.

"I have no self-interest in this whatsoever," said Edwards, who has indicated he will probably run for city treasurer next year.

Shifting south, west

The city council asked Sangamon County Clerk Joe Aiello's office about a year ago to draw a new map that would have roughly even populations in each ward, would keep all aldermen in the wards they currently represent, and would keep Ward 2 as the one that meets a requirement of the 1987 consent decree that says one ward must have a population composed of at least 60 percent black residents.

The county's geographic information system staff redrew the lines using 2010 census data and the 2002 ward map to divide up Capital Township's 104 precincts. The map was redone late last year after the county consolidated down to 102 precincts, but the boundaries didn't move, Aiello said.

The map doesn't take into account the number of registered voters in the precincts or their political affiliations, he said.

"It's a map that's drawn the way it's supposed to be drawn," Aiello said.

In general, the wards' boundaries would shift south and west because the city's population continues to grow in those directions. That is similar to what happened back in 2002, and it is reflected in the fact that Ward 1 and Ward 10 would see the largest population increases, 12 percent and 17 percent, respectively. Wards 2, 3 and 8, meanwhile, would decrease in population.

As the map stands now, the wards would have populations ranging from 11,046 to 12,143 residents.

Page 2 of 2 - Regardless of when the city council approves a new map, city residents won't receive new voter cards before the March primary. New cards will go out in the summer or early fall after the clerk's office updates the county's voter rolls ahead of the November general election, Aiello said.

Neighborhood protection

Ward 10 Ald. Tim Griffin, who represents the city's southwest side, said he has no concerns about the proposed map.

"I don't care one way or the other," he said.

One change is that Griffin would pick up the Piper Glen subdivision from Ward 1, but Edwards has already taken him to a meeting of the homeowners association to meet those would-be constituents and hear their concerns, he said.

Ward 8 Ald. Kris Theilen said he plans to run for re-election and doesn't think the new map would affect his chances.

However, he said he's working with Ward 9 Ald. Steve Dove and Ward 5 Ald. Sam Cahnman on a proposal to swap a few precincts to keep some neighborhoods together in the same ward.

Theilen said there have been times when different parts of his ward view issues differently, which can make representing constituents' interests a challenge. For example, a proposal to start charging residents on their monthly City Water, Light and Power bills for trash pickup had support from residents in the older section in the eastern part of his ward but not from residents in the newer neighborhoods to the west.

"One-third of my ward was for it," Theilen said. "Two-thirds of my ward was against it."

Cahnman said the new map doesn't significantly change the boundaries of Ward 5.

"It will allow me the opportunity to continue to work with the great people I have had the honor of representing since I first became an Alderman," he wrote in an email.

He did not respond to a question about the discussions with Theilen and Dove.

Ward 7 Ald. Joe McMenamin said the county "did a fair remap meeting all the requirements of the consent decree."

He said he doesn't plan to propose any changes to the boundaries of Ward 7, which roughly surrounds the village of Jerome.

"Any aldermen that wish to make changes have to be careful to avoid making wards less contiguous and less compact," McMenamin said.

Other aldermen did not respond Friday to requests for comment.

Edwards said the final version should be ready for a council vote within about 60 days.